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OnLive is free to try?

by: Nathan -
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Apparently OnLive is free; or at least it will be for the first 25,000 who pre-register and are qualified. This was a detail hidden away in the press release back in march that announced the launch date for the service (hardware?) and even our own John Yan missed it. Thankfully Alex Wiltshire, over at EDGE noticed the fine print and wrote an article letting the rest of us know about this "little" detail. Essentially, by pre-registering for OnLive users may have their first three months of regular subscription (that's a the price of $14.95) and will be able to purchase or rent games a la carte. This notice is too little too late, however because the pre-registration has already closed.
US Rollout of First Cloud Gaming Service to Begin During E3 2010 in Los Angeles; Launch Titles, Pricing Plans and Early Registration Program Announced at GDC 2010

San Francisco, CA — March 10, 2010OnLive, Inc., the pioneer of on-demand, instant-play video games, today announced that the PC and Mac® versions of its game service will begin rolling out to consumers on June 17, 2010 during the E3 2010 show. The OnLive® Game Service is a revolutionary, on-demand video game platform capable of delivering the latest and most advanced games instantly via a broadband connection on virtually any PC or Mac, via a small browser plug-in, or on an HDTV, via OnLive's MicroConsole™ TV Adapter. The OnLive Game Service enables an entirely new way to discover, explore, purchase and experience video game content. Additionally, the game service offers instant access to purchase or rent new release games on an à la carte basis from many of the world's leading publishers including Electronic Arts, Ubisoft® 2K Games, THQ and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

"This marks a huge milestone for both OnLive and the interactive entertainment landscape as a whole, changing the way that video games are developed, marketed, accessed and played," said Steve Perlman, Founder and CEO of OnLive. "We are opening the door to incredible experiences for gamers and enormous opportunities for developers and publishers."

Starting on June 17, 2010, the OnLive Game Service will be available to early registrants throughout the 48 contiguous United States. The initial offering will be supported by a $14.95 monthly service fee, which will provide access to an ever-increasing library of high-end, new-release, instant-play game content without the need to purchase expensive PC gaming or console systems.

Loyalty programs, such as multi-month pricing, and special offers will be announced by the start of E3. For starters, OnLive is announcing an exclusive, pre-registration offer, wherein the first 25,000 qualified registrants will have their OnLive $14.95 monthly service fee waived for the first three months of service. During this special three month introductory period, full versions of games will be available for purchase or rental on an à la carte basis. For important details regarding the OnLive Pre-registration special offer visit www.onlive.com/special1.

The OnLive Game Service will include standard online game service features such as gamer tags, user profiles, friends, and chat. In addition, an evolving slate of OnLive-exclusive features will include state-of-the-art 3D graphics performance; instant-play free game demos; multiplayer across PC, Mac and TV platforms; Brag Clips™ video capture and posting; massive spectating; always-updated games; cloud-saved games—pause and instantly resume from anywhere, even on a different platform; and much more. Individual game titles will be available for purchase or rental on an à la carte basis, with specific game pricing announced prior to the consumer launch event at E3.

"The OnLive Game Service creates a new opportunity for consumers to play the latest games without spending hundreds of dollars on a hardware system to make it happen," said Mike McGarvey, COO of OnLive. "As a Mac user myself, I'm excited about the opportunity to help bring high-end gaming to this new and significant market."

OnLive also confirmed ongoing platform support from the world's largest and most influential game publishers. While launch titles will be announced prior to E3 in Los Angeles, a few of the anticipated games include Mass Effect 2™, Dragon Age Origins™, Assassin's Creed® II, Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands™, Borderlands™ and Metro 2033™. OnLive will soon be announcing the availability of its MicroConsole TV Adapter which will bring the OnLive Game Service directly to consumers' television sets for the first time. An announcement about expected availability will be made later in the year.

OnLive's digital distribution model, instant-play capability and revolutionary video compression technology offers gamers of all skill levels the ability to experience the newest, most advanced, always-updated games with no downloading, no hardware upgrades, and virtually instant response time. As a result, consumers can enjoy more games more rapidly and with lower overall up-front investment than ever before.

About OnLive

OnLive is the pioneer of on-demand, instant-play video game services, delivering real-time interactive experiences and rich media through the Internet. With groundbreaking, patent-pending video compression technology, OnLive harnesses cloud computing to provide the power and intelligence needed to instantly deliver the latest, high-end game titles directly via a sleek, inexpensive MicroConsole TV Adapter, or on PCs and Macs via a small browser plug-in. OnLive technology is backed by over 100 patents and patents pending. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA. More information is available at www.onlive.com.

OnLive, Brag Clips and MicroConsole are trademarks or registered trademarks of OnLive, Inc. Mass Effect and Dragon Age are trademarks of EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd.. Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Prince of Persia and Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands are trademarks of Jordan Mechner in the US and/or other countries used under license by Ubisoft Entertainment.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.